Ken Livingstone

British politician, who was the last leader of the Greater London Council from 1981 to its abolition in 1986, a Labour Member of Parliament for Brent East (1987–2000), and the first elected Mayor of London (2000–2008).

All racist and anti-semitic attacks must be stamped out. However, the reality is that the great bulk of racist attacks in Europe today are on black people, Asians and Muslims — and they are the primary targets of the extreme right. For 20 years Israeli governments have attempted to portray anyone who forcefully criticises the policies of Israel as anti-semitic. The truth is the opposite: the same universal human values that recognise the Holocaust as the greatest racist crime of the 20th century require condemnation of the policies of successive Israeli governments — not on the absurd grounds that they are Nazi or equivalent to the Holocaust, but because ethnic cleansing, discrimination and terror are immoral.They are also fuelling anger and violence across the world. For a mayor of London not to speak out against such injustice would not only be wrong — but would also ignore the threat it poses to the security of all Londoners.

To avoid manufactured misunderstandings, the policies of Israeli governments are not analogous to Nazism. They do not aim at the systematic extermination of the Palestinian people, in the way Nazism sought the annihilation of the Jews.

Nothing could have been greater than the pride of serving this city. I do not believe — I am sure I speak for my colleagues on all sides — nothing else that happens to us in our lives will be as rewarding and fulfilling as the years that we have spent in this building.

Oliver Finegold: Mr Livingstone, Evening Standard. How did it ...Ken Livingstone: Oh, how awful for you.Finegold: How did tonight go?Livingstone: Have you thought of having treatment?Finegold: How did tonight go?Livingstone: Have you thought of having treatment?Finegold: Was it a good party? What does it mean for you?Livingstone: What did you do before? Were you a German war criminal?Finegold: No, I'm Jewish. I wasn't a German war criminal.Livingstone: Ah ... right.Finegold: I'm actually quite offended by that. So, how did tonight go?Livingstone: Well you might be, but actually you are just like a concentration camp guard. You're just doing it 'cause you're paid to, aren't you?Finegold: Great. I've you on record for that. So how did tonight go?Livingstone: It's nothing to do with you because your paper is a load of scumbags.Finegold: "How did tonight go?"Livingstone: It's reactionary bigots ...Finegold: I'm a journalist. I'm doing my job.Livingstone: ... and who supported fascism.Finegold: I'm only asking for a simple comment. I'm only asking for a comment.Livingstone: Well, work for a paper that isn't ...Finegold: I'm only asking for a comment.Livingstone: ... that had a record of supporting fascism.Finegold: You've accused me ...

Racism is a uniquely reactionary ideology, used to justify the greatest crimes in history — the slave trade, the extermination of all original inhabitants of the Caribbean, the elimination of every native inhabitant of Tasmania, apartheid. The Holocaust was the ultimate, "industrialised" expression of racist barbarity.Racism serves as the cutting edge of the most reactionary movements. An ideology that starts by declaring one human being inferior to another is the slope whose end is at Auschwitz. That is why I detest racism.

George Bush is just about everything that is repellent in politics... You have got this super-patriotic hawk who was a coward when his country was actually involved in a war and has the most venal and corrupt administration since President Harding in the 20s. He is not a legitimate president... This really is a completely unsupportable government and I look forward to it being overthrown as much as I looked forward to Saddam Hussein being overthrown.

In this city 300 languages are spoken and the people that speak them live side by side in harmony.This city typifies what I believe is the future of the human race and a future where we grow together and we share and we learn from each other.